A surface-coated cutting tool having a coating formed on a base material has conventionally been used. For example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2004-284003 (PTD 1) discloses a surface-coated cutting tool having a coating including an α-Al2O3 layer in which a total area of crystal grains showing a crystal orientation of a (0001) plane is 70% or higher when viewed in a direction of normal to a surface of the layer in a plan view.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2010-207946 (PTD 2) discloses a surface-coated cutting tool having a coating including an α-Al2O3 layer in which crystal grains observed at a surface have a specific size range when viewed in a direction of normal to a surface of the layer in a plan view.